


not a kid anymore

by avapacifica



Series: October Writing Challenge 2019 [27]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apocalypse, Car Accidents, Escape, Forests, Guns, M/M, Waiting, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 03:30:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21206678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avapacifica/pseuds/avapacifica
Summary: Carl has everything he wants. Open road ahead of him, and the only person he wants to be with next to him. Something is still bothering him though.





	not a kid anymore

**Author's Note:**

> Day 27: Apocalypse

Carl is angry, and he doesn’t know why. He’s exactly where he wants to be, in the passenger seat next to Negan, getting away from his life as he had known it up to a few hours ago. Yet for some reason, he’s still pissed off.

He’d bring it up to Negan, but he knows what the result will be. He’ll just end up being called a cissy, hormonal, or worst of all, a  _ child.  _ Of course Negan doesn’t actually think of Carl as one, that’s why he made him wait till he was eighteen to see if he truly wanted to leave. But now it’s Carl’s birthday, he got his wish, and something is still off. 

“Can we pull over? I have to take a leak.” Negan nods, silently making his way to the side of the road. When Carl gets out, he slams the door. He knows he’s just looking for trouble, but he’s really in the mindset to start a fight right now. Unluckily for him, Negan doesn’t follow right away. Instead, he’s able to take a piss uninterrupted. That is, until he turns around, and sees a walker straight behind him. His ears ring as a bullet pierces through it’s skull. Carl looks to the left to see Negan standing there, gun pointed.

“I can take care of myself.” He grumbles, buckling his belt.

“You left your gun in the car smartass.” He signals to the one he's holding. He's not usually one for firearms, Lucille is his weapon of choice. But his had been a close call. Carl pulls up the cuffs of his jeans to reveal a knife, and Negan raises his hands to admit he was wrong. “My bad. I saw it following you, just thought I’d help.” 

Carl rolls his eye, making his way back to the car. It’s hard to miss him slamming the door again, Negan almost chastises him for trying to attract more of the walkers. Instead, he decides he’s going to try to talk this through with him like a rational adult. Yeah, he knows. It’s new for him too.

“What’s all this about?” Negan climbs in the car, putting the key in the ignition, but not turning it just yet.

“What’s what all about?” He sighs, Negan’s not dumb. He knows something is up.

“Do you not want to leave yet? We can turn around. I can turn myself in, and we can just go when you’re ready. I’m sure it won’t be hard to escape a again, security was pretty lax the first time around.” Without waiting for a response, he puts the car in reverse, and starts to do a U-turn. Before, Carl had his whole body facing away from Negan. Apparently, this angers him enough to turn.

“The last thing I want to do is go back.”

“Well unless you tell me what’s up, that’s exactly where we’re headed.” Carl’s jaw drops, he looks pissed.

“You told me we could leave today!”

“Yeah, that’s when I thought you wanted to!” Negan is starting to yell, which he really didn’t want to do. Hell, it’s his baby boy’s birthday, he wanted to make the day special. If only he would stop acting like a little bitch.

“I already said I do, so can we just turn around?” There’s still that glimmer of anger in his eye, but Carl just looks sullen. Negan is about to shout something back, just trying to get an answer out of him, but when his eyes truly focus on the road he has to slam on the breaks. Another one of the dead had made it’s way onto the street, and he had come damn near hitting it. They both fly forward. Carl hits his head on the window he had been leaning against. The car swerves, but they come to a complete stop in the ditch next to the road.

Negan almost thinks Carl has passed out, or is about to, at how still the boy is sitting next to him. But right when he’s about to check his eyes, Carl darts out of the car, and kills the walker before Negan can give it a second thought. He climbs out of the vehicle.

“Next time we get in an accident and you hit your head, let me kill the damn monster!”

“What, so you can continue to see me as a helpless child?”

“This isn’t about you being a child, this is about you being hurt!” He makes his way around the hood of the car. “Let me check your head.” He raises a hand to Carl’s temple, but it just gets swatted away. 

“I’m fine.” He gets back into the car, clearly not. This is getting aggravating, Negan really hopes he hasn’t closed off emotional shit to the point where they can’t talk about things at all. He follows Carl’s suit, and makes his way into the car, stubborn as hell.

“Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to tell me what the fucks bothering you, and then you’re gonna let me see if you got injured. Alright?” Carl sighs, but he thinks he hears a muttered acceptance from the kid.

“Why did we have to wait so long to leave?” Oh. So that’s what this is about. “I’ve been through so much shit, maturity can’t be the issue.”

“You never learned because all this apocalypse bullshit happened before you got the chance, but your brain still isn’t done developing. I have my doubts even now about letting you make this choice. Call me old fashioned, but I’m not driving off into the sunset with someone underage.”

“It’s not like there’s any laws against it anymore.”

“That’s not the point and you know it. And believe it or not, those laws were there for a reason.” Negan is wondering if this is about more than just how long it took them to get out. “Have I been babying you too much?” Carl shrugs, but doesn’t make eye contact. Negan brings his face up to his own, all but forcing it.

“You better tell me baby boy, or it’s only gonna continue.” Heavy blush is covering Carl’s face.

“You know I don’t mind that kind of stuff in bed,” which reminds Negan, he finally has the chance to fuck the kid, no prison bars stand in their way. “but outside of that, I wish you would treat me like we’re on the same level.” 

There’s been a shift lately with their leave. Whereas before, Negan’s fate truly laid in Carl’s hands, and pet names like 'kid' and 'boy' never really bothered him, Negan’s age and experience seems dominating to him now. He really just wants this imbalance to go away, for everything to be equal in their relationship. Especially if they’re going to be the only two people in each other’s lives for a while. 

“Of course we are, I don’t think I’m above you in any way. But, if you want to get treated like an adult, act like one and let me make sure you’re not hurt.” For the first time since they left, Carl smiles. He nods, taking off his dad’s old hat and offering his head for inspection.

“It really doesn’t feel too bad.” Carl admits, “I had been resting on my hand when we swerved.” He shows Negan his fingers, which unfortunately had already bruised. He takes it into consideration, but still examines the boy carefully. He finds a small bump on the side of his head, but not much else. No cuts at least, which is good.

“I guess we can keep going.” Negan regretfully tells him, “but you’re taking that,” he points to his hand, “and that,” to his head, “easy. No more killing anything if I’m there to do it for you. Deal?” He reaches out his hand.

“Trick question, I’m not supposed to shake it.”

“Now you’re getting it.” Negan laughs, Carl joins in. Finally, this trip feels like the right thing to do.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Kudos and comments are always appreciated, feedback makes my day!


End file.
